At Least You Can Act by Anna Duffy

At Least You Can Act

By: Anna Duffy

Blow up giraffe? Table standing? These are only some of the unexplained aspects shown in the play The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams. The Glass Menagerie is an American classic production and considered by many to be one of the greatest plays ever created. I witnessed this creation on Wednesday March 11, 2015 at the Chace Theater in Providence, Rhode Island. This particular production was directed by Brian Mertes and put on by the Trinity Repertory theater company.  

The Glass Menagerie had unbelievable acting and music, but an off-putting and disordered set design with arbitrary features that did not seem to fit the story. When I first walked into the room where the production would take place, I was confused. I expected it to be a typical theater that has rows of seats with a classic stage in front. However instead of a classic stage, it was just a raised wooden platform with no sides. Also, all the props were in view, even the ones used later on in the play. Just when you think it could not get any worse, whenever the stage crew would come on to do something, they were wearing black but totally in view, and on purpose. All of these aspects made the show very distracting to watch. To add on to this, there were some random props and actions that did not seem to make sense within the production. For example, when each of the cast was playing the kazoo in a line sitting on chairs, there was one chair in the middle of all of them that had a blow-up giraffe sitting on it. This did not have much to do with the scene or plot. Another example is that sometimes when characters were talking, they would stand on tables while they did it. This was something that I cannot explain, and something that did not really add much to the scene for me personally. It was a bit distracting and annoying in my opinion. However, the actors did a fantastic job portraying their character in the best possible way, while the singing and instrumental was very skilled, clean, and beautiful. 

The Glass Menagerie had great acting and music, but a distracting and messy set design with random features that did not seem to fit the plot. The stage was open, the props and stage crew were in view, random unexplainable aspects were put in, and amazing acting and music took place. I do not recommend seeing this play if you get easily distracted, but the play itself is pretty well done.